To Cherish
by Ginkgoyi
Summary: Chelsea finally leaves the city after buying a farm, but instead falls off the boat and washes up on the shore of Sunny Island. A mysterious cowboy notices her and carries her off to get medical attention, yet he is known for being antisocial, cold, and rude to everyone. How will their relationship change from here on out? How will their pasts affect them? VxC
1. Chapter 1: On to a New Life

**So, this is my first time writing a fanfiction, and a long one at that. I still have much to learn, but I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Rated T just in case.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.**

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She got off the yellow taxi and thanked the driver, quickly handing him the exact payment for the ride. After putting on her rucksack and shutting the car door, she watched the taxi speed off back into the hustling city, waving one last time at the disappearing vehicle.

Now that she was at the edge of the city where the docks were, she could see just how dreary and boring the city looked from the outside. Identical-looking buildings were perfectly aligned in rows and columns, towering over the streets and blocking the sunlight that managed to filter in. Pedestrians were slightly slouching as they walked on the sidewalks, some carrying a black briefcase or a small clutch, which was too big to put into a pocket yet too small to even be considered as a real purse. Cars were honking at each other, exhaling black, putrid gas that disappeared into the surrounding tainted air.

Above her, she could see the clear blue skies behind her contrasting with the thin grey clouds floating above the city. To her, the city seemed like it sucked the life out of anything living, whether it was in the city or around it.

However, her time in the city is finally over. No longer will she need to live in that polluted life, devoid of any sort of scenery or tranquility that she loved.

A few weeks ago, while browsing through the weekly newspaper, she came across a peculiar ad:

_Are you looking for a fresh start? A new life? An escape from the city life? Or even all of the above? Then come to Leaf Valley and become the new farmer! Former farmer retired. Land, housing, and tools will be provided. Cost is only 5000G! If interested, please call XXX-OOXX._

Not believing that she just read, she raced to the phone and dialed in the number, making sure she wasn't dreaming. After a few minutes of talking and agreeing, she hung up the phone and fist-pumped the air. This was it! Her opportunity to finally escape everything around her was finally here. All she had to do now was to arrive at the farm on the specified date and it will be hers to run.

Now, it was one day before said date. She checked her rucksack one last time to see if she packed everything. Nodding to herself in approval for not forgetting anything, she adjusted her rucksack back onto her back. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face the dock.

Her deep blue eyes widened with awe at what she saw: right there, at the end of the dock, floated the first step of her new life. She felt the fresh ocean breeze gently weave through her long chestnut-colored hair. It wrapped around her, softly nudging her, urging her to go towards the ship.

She laughed, never imaging that even the wind would be encouraging her to part from the city. Following the breeze's silent gesture, she jogged closer to the end of the dock, absorbing in everything she saw.

The ship wasn't very big, but it wasn't too small either, at least in her opinion. She was born in the suburbs but was raised in the heart of the city, so she had never seen a ship in real life. Around the ship, several sailors were tirelessly making the final preparations before it would set sail to Leaf Valley, a trip that would take about a day to make.

She grinned at the thought of living in Leaf Valley. She would finally be able to meet new people, make new friends, and raise many farm animals that would become her new family—something she yearned for years no matter who or what they would be.

She happily ran forward the rest of the way towards the boarding ramp of the ship. Along the way, she cheerfully waved at many of the sailors and workers who gladly returned her gesture. Arriving at the ramp, she handed over the coins for the travel fee to the worker and received a cabin number along with its cabin card in return. She was told that her cabin was located on the starboard side, the right side of the boat.

When she about to board the ship, a tall, bulky man wearing a white hat with a navy blue brim walked up to her. He must be the captain, she presumed.

"Good afternoon, young miss" he greeted, slightly lifting his hat from his head.

She smiled. She could tell from that one greeting that this man was extremely affable. "Good afternoon, sir. Are you the captain of this ship?"

"Indeed I am," he said with a smile. "I'm guessing that this is your first time on a boat?"

Her eyes widened with amazement at his guess. "How did you know?" sounding like a child who had her secret exposed by her parents.

He softly chuckled at her innocence, never before having seen a girl from the city with such sweet naivety. "Trust me, after decades of sailing passengers, you develop a sense of who has been on one and who hasn't." He grinned at her and said, "I hope you'll enjoy your first time on a boat, miss." Lifting his hat one last time, he briskly walked onboard and entered the bridge, waiting until it was time to leave.

After watching the captain disappear into the bridge, she rushed onboard towards her cabin. Once she made her way around the stern, she couldn't help but notice the scene to her right.

She stared over the railing and into the far horizon of the ocean. The clear blue water glistened with the reflections of the sun's lights. She couldn't remember the last time she saw something so beautiful. It reminded her of the photographs in those traveling brochures—so breathtaking that it's hard to imagine a sight like that could actually exist.

Smiling, she gently touched the small cherry charm that was connected to a thin, silver-plated chain resting around her neck. The charm had two silver juxtaposing cherries, each one hanging from a short silver stem that joined up at the chain.

The small charm calmed her, giving her peace whenever she needed it. It gave her of many fond memories of her parents when they were still alive and of a particular, unforgettable encounter following her parents' funeral.

She picked it out herself years later at a large street vendor. As she was walking home from the park and nonchalantly glancing over the items in the vendors, the small charm grabbed her attention right as she was passing it. The way the cherry had reminded her of the ephemeral yet happy moments in her past persuaded her into buying it.

Ever since then, she had worn it every day, sometimes imagining that she could feel the presence of her parents around her, looking out for her, keeping her safe from harm.

Taking one last look into the distance, she turned her attention back to finding her cabin. Passing a few more doors, she finally found the door that had the number matching the one on her card.

Inserting the door key, she pushed open the door. After entering the small room, Chelsea dropped her rucksack onto the ground and collapsed onto the bed, unintentionally dozing off from the gentle rocking of the boat.

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**Well, there's Chapter One. Good? Bad? Please review and tell me what you guys think. :D**

**Word count: 1,230**

**Uploaded on: 3/25/2013**


	2. Chapter 2: Not Like Titanic

**Whoo, update! This actually turned out a little longer than I thought it would (which is good, since I need to learn how to write more, haha.)**

**There's a drastic dearth of dialogue in this chapter, but there's going to be a ton in the next, I promise.**

**On with the chapter!**

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A few hours passed before Chelsea woke up. Groggily, she pushed herself out of the bed and immediately put on her rucksack. It didn't feel right to her if her rucksack wasn't near her, if not on her. Back in the city, you never knew where your bag might disappear to if you left it lying around, even for one second.

Looking around, she could tell that the room wasn't originally designed to keep a passenger in his room for any purpose other than sleep. The only furniture present was a bed and a small table with a matching chair. Hanging from the ceiling was a lone lightbulb surrounded by a thin visor. Chelsea assumed from the poor lighting that the crew members expected passengers to go to sleep by dark.

She could see through the porthole that the sky was painted by the pink, orange, and purple hues of the sunset. High above the setting sun, Chelsea could see stars faintly emerging in the dark blue sky where the vibrant colors had departed. There were only a few more hours left before she would have to turn in for the day, despite all the sleep she had already gotten.

With nothing to do in the tiny cabin plus a few hours to spare, Chelsea decided to explore the boat to waste the remaining time away.

Walking back to the stern of the ship, Chelsea saw that there was a decently sized lounge for passengers that she had passed earlier in the day. She pushed open the door and entered. In the middle of the room, there were a few small couches surrounding a rectangular coffee table. Magazines were stacked in an undisturbed pile underneath the table, as if they were waiting for someone to pick them up for the first time and flip through their contents.

Over in the far corner of the lounge was a small bar supervised by a very bored bartender. Even though she was of legal drinking age, she never drank in the city even after she had turned twenty-one a year ago. She didn't want to spend money to get drunk when she could be using that money to buy food and other necessities for the week.

Chelsea looked around some more. Other than a few extra lights in the ceiling and some portholes on the walls, there really wasn't anything else special about the lounge.

Sighing, she exited the room and went towards the bow of the ship, hoping there was something there that she could do.

The bow of the ship was very spacious compared to the lounge despite some ship equipment that was neatly organized in piles around the deck. Seeing that the railings on the sides of the boat met up at a point at the very tip of the bow, Chelsea's eyes sparked with an idea.

Walking over to the railing at the tip, Chelsea took one step onto the lowest bar. Closing her eyes, she spread her arms in a true Titanic-fashion. She smiled with a contented grin, feeling the literal sense of freedom and excitement, as if she was truly flying.

The only thing, or person, missing now was a Jack to hold her around the waist. She slightly giggled at that impossible thought. There was no way anyone would want to go out with someone like her. All the relatives and foster homes she stayed at in the past made that very clear. She would always be extra luggage, better suited to grow up alone without bothering anyone.

Completely lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the large wave heading towards the boat. It didn't seem normal, considering that the ocean around it was calm. But it was coming, and it was coming fast. It seemed like the wave had only one goal, and that was to knock the ship over in its path.

Only moments passed before the shock of the collision came. The boat lurched violently, and Chelsea was suddenly jostled forward, her eyes snapping open. She barely had the time to register what was going on. With the highest bar not even above her thighs, Chelsea instinctively reached her arms out as she fell.

However, it proved futile as there was nothing but air between her and the water.

The cold, dark water engulfed her. As she sank, Chelsea realized how useless she was. She never learned how to swim. The opportunity had never arisen. She didn't even think about asking for a life vest while she was on the ship. She had never thought that she would actually be thrown into the ocean on her first boat trip.

She tried to thrash her way back up to the surface, but she couldn't tell which way up was. Every direction seemed like it would take her deeper into the ocean. There wasn't any light from above that could help guide her in the right direction. Either the boat sailed on, barely harmed from the impact and never noticing her disappearance, or she was just too deep in the ocean to even be able to see any light at all.

Soon, her body started to scream at her, telling her to hurry and breathe. Chelsea tried to reject the instinct as long she could, but there was only a limit to how long she could do it.

Unable to suppress the urge any longer, she exhaled the remaining air in her lungs.

In return, she automatically breathed in. She could feel the water entering her lungs, suffocating her. After a brief moment of agony, Chelsea felt her body numb, and blacked out.

**vvvvvvvv**

It was a Wednesday night, which meant that he had to endure one more day of this island. As always, he sat near a huge rock on the beach, enjoying the calm, summer air. Thank goddess it was summer, or else he had to live with the awful smell of seaweed that the rock produced every spring.

He heard from his aunt that a ship last night was hit by a tidal wave, and a big one at that. No one knew exactly where this wave came from, but they assumed that it was caused by earthquake on a small, uninhabited island, miles away from here. No casualties were reported, she told him.

The news didn't concern him as long as it wasn't an animal transporting ship that was hit. He worked as an animal dealer for a living, and he hated the thought of any innocent animal drowning in the sea. On the other hand, he could care less about people. He couldn't trust anyone, except for maybe his aunt and cousin on the island.

Hours passed, and it was getting darker outside. He felt like it was about time to head back and rest up for the next day. However, as he got up, he noticed an abnormally shaped…thing lying on the shore fifty-some feet away to his left. He couldn't tell what it was in the dim light.

Usually, he wasn't ever curious about anything, but something compelled him to get a closer look.

Slowly, he walked towards the oddly shaped form. As he got closer, he began to make out what the _thing_ was. His eyes widened in surprise. Why the hell was a girl washed up on the shore? Scratch that. _How_ the hell did she end up in the ocean in the first place?

He thought about leaving her and letting Denny find her when he got back from his fishing rounds. After all, this wasn't his problem, and he didn't want to be a part of it. He was about to walk away when he noticed something faintly sparkle right beside her.

He knelt down and picked it up. It was a silver necklace with a single cherry charm attached to it. He assumed that it was the girl's. Observing it more closely, he saw that the chain had broken and it couldn't be fixed without the aid of a blacksmith.

"A blacksmith…" he muttered. He knew exactly who to ask to fix it, but he wouldn't be heading off for Mineral Town until Friday. He averted his eyes to the unconscious girl, and then back to the necklace. He sighed in irritation. He didn't want to be involved with this at all. He wanted to go back to the animal shop and carry on as if he had never seen this girl.

But he also felt his conscience silently nagging him to take the girl and get some medical help, or else he would regret it. He pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Goddess, what was he getting himself into?

He put the necklace into the chest pocket of his vest to keep it safe until Friday. He then picked up the girl, bridal style. She felt light in his arms, but then again, his job kept him physically fit. His muscular body was evidence of it.

Quickly, he ran to the animal shop in town, mostly to prevent anyone from seeing this embarrassing scene. The last thing he needed on this island was a rumor spreading about his sudden act of kindness. Busting through the door, he shouted to his aunt and cousin, who initially stared at him in confusion and then in shock when they saw the almost lifeless girl in his arms.

"Mirabelle, Julia, call the doctor and Felicia to hurry the hell up over here."

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**Now who is this person that saved Chelsea? I'm sure you can guess. ;D**

**I heard that I probably made him too caring in this chapter, so I'll just make him colder with his next appearance, whenever that will be.**

**Read, review, and tell me what you guys think of this chapter. :3**

**Word count: 1,576**

**Uploaded on: 3/31/2013**


	3. Chapter 3: Regained Consciousness

**Finally got the time to finish and upload this chapter. Yayyy**

**And there's more dialogue! So now it shouldn't be that boring, riight? /shot**

**Anyhow, time to proceed with the story!  
**

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_It was a cool, crisp autumn day. Squirrels were busily scurrying around, looking for acorns and walnuts that they can store and eat before hibernation. Leaves on the maple and oak trees were slowly turning into brilliant shades of reds and yellows, making the area look like a fantastical painting. Underneath them, a young girl happily skipped along the small asphalt pathway to her home, humming a tune she made up on the spot._

_Arriving at the front door, she dug around in her small messenger bag. Carefully shifting the position of some kind of large, oddly-shaped yellow piece of rolled up paper, she found the string with the key attached to it. She inserted it into the lock that was way above her head and walked into the house. _

_"I'm home~!" she said in a sing-song voice._

_"Welcome home, Chelsea," a brunette woman replied as she smiled to her daughter entering the house. "Did you have fun at school today?"_

_The young girl giggled. "Of course! Oh, Mommy, guess what?"_

_"What?" the woman asked gently, smiling at the enthusiasm that was radiating from the young girl's sparkling eyes._

_"It's going to be Daddy's birthday tomorrow! And I made him a paper crown for him during arts and crafts. The teacher even said that it was the best crown she has ever seen," she exclaimed, smiling as proudly as a four year-old could. "Oh! But you can't tell Daddy anything. You need to keep it a secret!"_

_Her mother laughed. It had a melodious tune to it. The young girl loved hearing her mother laugh, and she could listen to it all day if she could. "I promise, sweetie."_

_"Pinky promise?" The young girl asked as she eagerly held up her small pinky finger._

_"Pinky promise," her mother said, finalizing the agreement by wrapping her finger around her daughter's._

_"What are you ladies pinky promising about this time?" a deep voice suddenly asked from the front door._

_"Daddy! W-we weren't pinky promising anything." The young girl looked down, her cheeks turning red from being caught. She nervously shifted around on her feet, not daring to look into her father's eyes. She was afraid that he might see through her head and into her thoughts, even though it was clearly obvious to the father that she was hiding _something_ from him._

_Her father looked at her mother with a small smile, amused at his daughter's attempt to stay natural. Her mother only looked back at him with a loving gaze. She put one of her index fingers up to her grinning lips, implying to him to play along and pretend he didn't know anything._

_He nodded slightly to his wife and suddenly picked up Chelsea, carrying her in his arms. "Well, I don't know what you guys were promising about, but the weather outside is too perfect to pass up. Want to go for a little stroll with me?"_

_"Sure!" the little girl chirped, seemingly having forgotten about his intrusion earlier. "Can Mommy come too?"_

_He chuckled. "I don't see why not." He gently put his little girl back onto the ground._

_She smiled up at both of her parents and giggled, thrilled at the thought of having a stroll with both of her parents at her side. "Well, let's hurry up and go!" Without a moment to waste, she quickly bolted out of the front door. However, as she was looking back at her parents in her haste, she tripped over a large tree root and slammed headfirst into a tree. She faintly heard her parents yell out her name in horror before losing consciousness._

**vvvvvvvv**

It's been awhile since Chelsea dreamt of something from her past, and a decent one at that. However, her reminiscence was short-lived. She felt her head pounding, and groaned at the discomfort.

"…dear…Dear…are you feeling alright?"

Chelsea slowly opened her eyes, feeling the heavy weight of her eyelids. Through her blurred vision she could make out a woman staring down at her with concern. It reminded her of someone familiar…

"M…om…?" Chelsea hoarsely called out.

"Oh! Thank goddess you're awake! You literally worried all of us to death!" The woman let out a sigh of relief and sat down on a chair next to the bed Chelsea was on.

Chelsea blinked a few times, her vision becoming clear again. She turned her head and blushed at the realization that she mistook this woman for her mother. How silly of her to think it was though. She knew that she wasn't ever going to see her mother ever again, not after that incident…

Chelsea pushed the thought to the back of her head. Now was not the time for her to feel upset at her past. And Chelsea could feel that the longer she stayed silent, the more worried the woman beside her appeared to be.

The woman had short, wavy, blonde hair, along with a rather plump body. She was dressed in a large blue dress that went down to her ankles. Her blue eyes were of a lighter shade than Chelsea's, but they had a mother's gaze—gentle and heart-warming. She also had a mole on the side of her mouth, but it didn't feel extrinsic. Sort of like seeing the candle on a birthday cake.

"Um…sorry for mistaking you as my mom earlier," Chelsea said sheepishly, still a little embarrassed at her mix-up. She tried to get out of bed, but she immediately fell back down in exhaustion right after she sat up. The pounding in her head continued, making her groan once more.

"Oh, please rest some more. You're in no condition to be moving around yet. The doctor said to rest for at least one more day," the woman said.

Chelsea weakly nodded. She saw that she had no choice. No matter how strongly she wished to get to her new farm, she wouldn't even have the energy to start working on it.

Wait, the farm…

Her eyes suddenly widened. "What day is it today?" Chelsea urgently asked.

The woman looked at her, confused at her sudden alarm. "Today is Thursday, dear. You were found unconscious on the shore last night."

Thursday. One day after the date she had to arrive at the farm in Leaf Valley. And she couldn't even leave until Friday, at best. No doubt will the farm be in someone else's hands by then. Chelsea started to tear up at the thought. She can't return to her apartment in the city since she had already sold it, and she was pretty sure none of her relatives would take her in even for one night. She had nowhere else to go to.

"What's the matter?" asked the woman, concerned at Chelsea's sudden mood change.

"I-I don't have a place to go to anymore…I bought a farm in Leaf Valley, b-but now it might be owned by someone else…" Chelsea bitterly replied, her tears on the verge of falling.

After hearing Chelsea's dilemma, the woman smiled. "You're in luck, dear. You see, right now you're on an island called Sunny Island. Since we—the other villagers and I—decided to move in fairly recently on this previously uninhabited island, we were looking for a rancher to take over the farm in the north, not too far away from the town. Would you consider taking the job?"

Chelsea could hardly believe what she was hearing. She stared wide-eyed at the woman, hoping that she didn't hear wrong. "H-how much do I have to pay for it?"

"You don't have to pay anything." The woman laughed, but then her expression turned serious, her voice filled with concern. "However, I must warn you that it has been abandoned for quite some time now, and it will require a lot of work before it can be up and running again. Do you think you can handle it on your own?"

Chelsea was unfazed by her warning. "Of course! I don't want to give up without trying." She didn't want to go back to the city without even doing anything. The woman smiled at her eagerness.

"Alright then. I'll tell Taro that you're up to the task. Whenever you're ready to move about, I'll take you over to his house and he'll take you to the farm. Taro use to be a former farmer, so I'm sure he'll help you get started."

"Thank you, Miss…"

"Mirabelle. Just call me Mirabelle, dear. I'm the owner of the animal shop on this island. I also have a daughter called Julia that's running the shop with me. She's taking care of the animals in the back right now, but you'll see her soon."

Chelsea nodded. "I'm Chelsea," she said in return.

"Well then Chelsea, you should get some rest." Mirabelle got up and headed for the door. "If you need anything, just call out my name, and I'll come as soon as I can."

"I will."

Mirabelle smiled and left the room, softly closing the wooden door on her way out. Chelsea felt a wave of exhaustion closing in on her. Yawning, she closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful, uneventful sleep.

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**Chelsea's flashbacks will be very important later on, since the brief explanations she'll provide about her past will be very...nebulous, LOL.  
**

**Also, I might not be able to upload Chapter Four extremely soon, since APs are coming up in a few weeks and I am ****_screwed _(plus, my teachers are just loading me with work. It's getting ridiculous T^T)****. So, I have to focus more on my studies until then. Sorry to whoever is reading this. D:**

**Word count: 1,528**

**Uploaded on: 4/14/2013**


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